Even though I’m not really a musical sort of girl, I do think the new Les Miserables film looks good, partly because I love the look of the costumes and also it gives us a reason to put a picture of the dashing Hugh Jackman on the blog, fresh from winning a Golden Globe on Sunday (best actor in a musical, Ann Hathaway won best supporting actress).

Those muddy, worn-in hues and all that crumpled, distressed tailoring remind me of the type of clothing you sometimes see at vintage fairs. I am a fan of ‘crumpled’. Having never been able to pull off the super-groomed look, where hair is brushed, lipstick applied and all clothes stain and crease free at all times, I am drawn to any designer who offers a chance to be elegant in a more dishevelled manner. I think it’s also why I like vintage clothes, for that broken-in look.

For those of you with a strong romantic streak who fancy dressing with a touch of crumpled Les Mis’ inspiration this year, can I point you towards the highly original Runholdz brand, with its trend-free range of dresses, jackets and trousers that wouldn’t look out of place in the film. The look wont appeal to all of you but I know plenty of creative women who would love the unique styling and off-beat romance of the clothes. I discovered the brand when I went to Antwerp last year, it is run by Carsten and Lenka Rundholz, a husband and wife team who live in Germany have been designing the range since 1993.

Rundholz AW 12, currently on sale at Corniche online store

The Antwerp shop was lovely and the staff there were charming, but you can buy it closer to home from Corniche, an Edinburgh based store with an excellent online website. It’s a good time to look as much of the Rundholz line is now in the seasonal sale, so if you were thinking of experimenting, take a look. Corniche appears to be well organised and will ship world wide.

An additional treat is the newly released Rindholz perfume, which I picked up a sample vial of in Anterp, it’s called 03.Apr. 68 and it is absolutely gorgeous. At the risk of sounding a bit crazy, the smell is pretty much how I would scent the Les Miserables film; earthy, woody, with wiffs of tar, overlaid with a whack of rich fruity incense. Again not everyone’s taste, but when my tiny vial runs out, I’m going to try and justify spending £75 on a bottle (my perfume wardrobe is getting a bit full). It’s very difficult to find anywhere that stocks it so if you like an exclusive smell, this might be one for you. Corniche is known for its great service so I’m sure if you contact them, they might send a sample vial.

Posted In:

Written By:

Amanda

Like this?

Read comments on this post (8)

8 Comments on this post:

15th January 2013 - 7:24 am

Suesays:

I do love that Romantic look through clothing and am seeing the film this afternoon, so I’ll bear your thoughts in mind.I also like the idea of a scent for a film.The clothes above remind me a bit of Marithe + Francois Girbaud or, maybe, High. I used to wear them a bit but I suddenly, at about 45, just felt too old for the arty-crumpled thing and tried to go for more streamlined clothes.But am off to check out that website now…

Phew! Just gone onto the website and it’s sold out on all the items that appealed to me – could have done considerable damage. The coat reminds me of the one you bought in Belguim and featured.

15th January 2013 - 8:09 am

pamsays:

These remind me so much of the clothes made by American artist J. Morgan Puett. She used to have the most fantastic shop in SoHo on Wooster St (I think). Most of the room was taken up by a large, unseaworthy boat—probably not the most profitable use of retail space, but very beautiful.

Oh, perfect. I was just lamenting how much I miss the 1990s when everything was nice and broken-in and it wasn’t as desirable to look “super-groomed,” as you said. I’ve never been able to pull it off, either.

Leave a Comment

Next 5 posts:

While I love a bit of snow, cold weather generally makes my skin itch. My skin has got more sensitive to cold weather as I’ve got older and I shrivel up like a sun dried tomato at the first signs of frost. What’s that all about? I really should be living in the Caribbean. I […]

Not since the launch of our beloved COS have I been so excited about a new clothing range. And since COS is not exciting me quite as much as it used to (come back Rebekka Bay – now that Gap have re-structured you out of the business) the new online range Finery London, could be just […]

I intended to write about musician PJ Harvey as our Weekend Woman this week, as I’m off to see one of her Recording Sessions at Somerset House this week, but I am indebted to middleagedad who while researching for an art project came across the wonderful Viola Smith, an American drummer who broke down many […]

We are loving the look of this new street style book, ‘Denim Dudes’ by ex-colleague and friend Amy Leverton. It explores the very best of denim styling from over 80 different denim obsessives and shows how a wide range of men interpret denim, from metal heads, punks, indie kids, rockabillies, bikers and hipsters, to geeks. Amy is a denim expert who […]

We’re not done with the conversation around what language we use when we talk about older here at TWR. We might be making great progress on getting older women on magazine covers and heading up brand marketing campaigns but there’s still a way to go on everything else, not least on getting great fashionable clothes that […]